More craziness from the City of Perth, all motivated by trying to make it easier for people to drive through the CBD. Sheer madness.

What they should have done is retained most of the one-way streets with the following lane allocations:- 1 bus lane- 1 general traffic lane- 1 contra-flow cycle lane (allowing cyclists to use all city streets as two-way streets)- parking where desirable and the road reserve allows

Instead they are going with a solution which:- doesn't provide for cycle lanes on any streets- doesn't provide for proper bus priority (the middle of the CBD should have 24hr lanes, not this garbage peak period, peak direction lane)- they are going to have to ban right turns at half the intersections anyway to make them work, in which case you may as well have kept the one-way streets

It also pisses me off that they are moving buses off William Street, making access to Northbridge more difficult.

I don't understand why they are only bus lanes at peak periods; when the road is busiest, only buses can use it. But when the road is not very busy, anyone can use it, but they don't need to use since the road is not very busy... So they may as well be bus lanes 24/7!! I see plenty of cars abuse the system and make it a hassle for buses in these times.

Anyway, the bus lanes on Beaufort St through Inglewood (Sixth Ave to Salisbury St) allow bikes to use them. I assume this will be the same for the proposed?

At the moment cyclists can't travel into the city along Beaufort in the CoP section, and must negotiate peak hour with cars going out of the city. So as far as cycling is concerned, this is a win?

Red Rider wrote:I don't understand why they are only bus lanes at peak periods; when the road is busiest, only buses can use it. But when the road is not very busy, anyone can use it, but they don't need to use since the road is not very busy... So they may as well be bus lanes 24/7!! I see plenty of cars abuse the system and make it a hassle for buses in these times.?

Most definitely. In this case it's all about parking, which just shows you that even in inner Perth that the car is still king.

As far as cycling goes, it's a partial win I suppose. The current inbound route along William St is reasonable for cyclists (I'm not the fastest but I ride comfortably in the lane in the morning peak) and you can pass buses as they have bays at their stops.

On Sunday 7 of April, existing westbound bus services on Newcastle Street will turn left onto Beaufort Street instead of William Street for southbound travel.

From Sunday 21 of April, existing southbound buses on William Street (Northbridge) will instead run southbound on Beaufort Street (Northbridge).

As Beaufort Street covers two local government areas, the City of Perth has been working with the City of Vincent to complete this project. It is anticipated that the City of Vincent sections of Beaufort Street will be opened to two-way traffic on Sunday 21 April.

“It is important all road user pay close attention to the new traffic flows and pedestrians must look both ways when crossing the newly converted streets.”

The conversion of Beaufort Street will be followed by William Street (between Roe Street and Newcastle Street) which will be opened to two-way traffic on Sunday 21st April

Something I noticed though - why are the bus lanes not signposted to permit cyclists to ride in them? This is done elsewhere, e.g. Barry Marshall Drive at Murdoch, St Georges Terrace, Great Eastern Highway, and of course the lanes on Beaufort St through Inglewood.

Cyclists will use it anyway, legal or not, so it just seems mind-numbingly stupid that such infrastructure is not signposted properly. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the contempt shown to cyclists by CoP, CoV and MRWA.

I prefer not to share with busses on the Terrace... they stop all the time and you can get stuck behind a big long line of them :> ... but the bus lane on beaufort st is better as there are less busses and less stops.

I've found Beaufort St heading north on the recently made two-way stretch to be a real pain. There's less scope to overtake buses stopped in the left lane and cars are less likely to move over when passing you. It all feels a lot less bike-friendly now, although I guess you can cycle in the opposite direction.

Riding eastbound along Newcastle Street, even early in the morning (5:30ish) takes a bit longer now with the traffic lights at the intersection of Beaufort Street taking a lot longer to cycle through (due to 2-way conversion). Quite annoying actually

The City of Perth Bike Plan shows intent for William Street to be an Integrated Cycle Route (i.e. slow speed environment, good for cycling) and Stirling Street to be a City Cycle Route (cycle lanes to be in place in the next month or so), so Beaufort Street can be avoided.

As far as signals go, there's some problems with the loops on Newcastle/Beaufort/Roe Streets so the synchronisation is all to pot!

Sinner wrote:The City of Perth Bike Plan shows intent for William Street to be an Integrated Cycle Route (i.e. slow speed environment, good for cycling) and Stirling Street to be a City Cycle Route (cycle lanes to be in place in the next month or so), so Beaufort Street can be avoided.

William St is actually pretty good now, heading south. The only pain is getting all the way to the river - wonder how many years until that link is open again? It sucks doing a footpath backwards dog-leg onto Barrack st!

William Street is OK apart from the all the red lights and traffic which makes it rather pointless as a "ride in primary position" type route. Also the areas where the kerb extensions are through Northbridge don't leave much room for passing vehicles on the left/being passed.

The Stirling St bike lanes have been well done. Marked lanes between Roe St and the existing lanes beyond Newcastle St. Green treatment in places, plus advanced stopping boxes at the Aberdeen and Newcastle St lights.

The 'cross here with care' sign at the Roe St end seems a bit odd. Is it for the people riding on the path or riding on the road? It is in an awkward spot also.

That sign is terribly located and I can't understand why it is there. The only people crossing there would be those going from PSP (westbound) to Stirling (northbound).

Also, Beaufort Street up near Bulwer Street (not sure how far north it goes) has just been resurfaced with red asphalt ready for bus lanes. No doubt they will not be signed appropriately to allow cyclists to use them.

Beaufort heading North out of Mt Lawley has been given the PM bus/bike lane treatment! From memory it was from Queens Crescent up to the top of the hill at Regent/First Ave. It has brown bitumen with good signage and bold yellow road markings. Given the current road works down the hill, it looks as though it will eventually link up with the Inglewood bus/bike lane.

The intention is to have the bus lanes completed, from almost Walcott Street (yes that stage will be signed too) all the way to the existing bus lanes at Sixth Avenue. Currently scheduled for this financial year, for completion end of June.

initially the plans showed just bus lanes but City Of Stirling insisted that they should be bus/bike lanes as were provided through Inglewood.

These lanes are AM/PM peak lanes servicing a new high frequency bus route from Morley, along Beaufort Street, through Perth City and up to QE2 medical centre.

Who is online

About the Australian Cycling Forums

The largest cycling discussion forum in Australia for all things bike; from new riders to seasoned bike nuts, the Australian Cycling Forums are a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.